You can be sure of one thing at South Florida’s kosher and Jewish-oriented restaurants and markets: Customers will make their wishes known.
And what do they want in 2025? Restaurateurs and market owners say their patrons are asking for healthy food at reasonable prices, and are experiencing sticker shock when they look at this year’s menus.
“A lot of people feel the markets are overcharging for kosher food,” said Aviad Ballaish, chef and owner of KosherChobee, a restaurant in West Palm Beach. “I get a lot of questions like, ‘Why does chicken cost so much?’ ”
Fortunately, we in South Florida have lots of options for kosher and kosher-style food, including at restaurants, markets, cafes, delis and take-out holes-in-the-wall. Here are some trends to watch — as well as how local eateries are responding with creativity and innovation.
Frustration with kosher meat prices
There’s no doubt the price of meat has been increasing, due to an assortment of factors including the high cost of grain and a shrinking inventory of cattle. Zeke Fagan, manager at the kosher Traditions South restaurant in Boca Raton, said he has paid at least 15% to 20% more for meat in the past year and has had to raise menu prices accordingly.
His $21 hamburger was $18 a year ago. Sliced tenderloin steak, now $58, was $44 a year ago, Fagan said.
In an effort to stem price increases, Ballaish at KosherChobee has been researching Mexican and South American kosher meats, which he said are high-quality but have a different flavor as the cows are grass-fed.
“Why pay $22 a pound if you can get it for $18?” he said.
Though he can’t bring these meats to his restaurant — as they may not comply with the requirements of the Orthodox Rabbinical Board of Broward and Palm Beach Counties, which certifies his restaurant as strictly kosher — he can offer them in his expanding catering operation, Boca Raton-based CEK Caterers.
Shareable plates
Families and groups of friends have been returning to restaurants post-pandemic, said Sara Gitlitz, spokeswoman for TooJay’s, which has delis throughout Florida. She said servers have been getting lots of requests for shareable meals.
In May 2024, the kosher-style eateries began offering a Deli Tower, with a choice of three meats, such as corned beef, roast beef and turkey, along with lettuce, tomato, cheese and bread, as well as a Nova Tower, with nova, cream cheese, bagels and other fixings. These towers can be split between two or four people and are designed to encourage conversation as they are customizable.
“We’re seeing a lot of families with grandkids, or tables of three or four friends,” Gitlitz said. “People are hanging out in groups again.”
A shortage of eggs
Those who love eggs for breakfast are cringing at the rices. Rick Bruskin, owner of Pomperdale Famous New York Deli in Fort Lauderdale, said 30 dozen eggs cost him about $60 a few years ago and now cost $250, thanks to bird flu, which has forced producers to kill many chickens, thus reducing supplies.
Bruskin has added a surcharge of $1 for one or two eggs or $1.50 for an omelet. He said he plans to eliminate the fee if egg prices fall.
He thought his patrons would complain about the surcharge, but so far they haven’t. It helped that he posted an explanation in several places in the restaurant.
“Customers understand,” Bruskin said. “I expected some pushback and we didn’t get it.”
Popularity of Mediterranean cuisine
South Floridians who love the spicy and tangy sauces of Middle Eastern foods are thrilled that Mediterranean restaurants are making their debuts all over Palm Beach and Broward counties.
Recently opened and soon-to-open Israeli and Middle Eastern eateries include Cafe Landwer in Boca Raton, Malka in West Palm Beach and Amar Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar in Delray Beach.
Meanwhile, Motek (Hebrew for “sweetheart”), which has six restaurants in Miami-Dade County, plans to launch in the spring in Boca Raton. The lively restaurants are famous for their lamb shawarma and chicken schnitzel platters, not to mention their puffy, olive oil-doused, house-made pita bread.
Upscale bagels
Bagels with caviar, anyone? Mitch Shidlofsky, who operates Mitch’s Downtown Bagel Cafe in Fort Lauderdale and Hallandale Beach and Mitch’s Westside Bagels in Weston, said he noticed delis in New York and Los Angeles offering some innovative bagel combos, including open-face half bagels and “elevated” spreads such as caviar.
Shidlofsky is one of many food entrepreneurs who are rethinking the bagel and its traditional schmears. Connecticut-based chain PopUp Bagels, which specializes in fluffy dough rings that customers tear up and dip in creative flavors like vodka sauce and honey chipotle, plans to open two locations this summer in Delray Beach and Aventura.
Shidlofsky is brainstorming his own creative bageling, including topping them with fancy spreads such as salmon roe. He expects to have them on menus in the coming months.
Hot honey, he said, is another trendy add-on, and he’s planning to offer it on egg and cheese sandwiches soon.
“We’re a Jewish deli at heart, but we’re no dummies. The world is changing,” Shidlofsky said. “People want healthier, and the Miami crowd wants to be able to post pictures on Instagram.”
